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Florida workers who are gay and married in the state can now apply to their employers for leave to care for their spouses with a health condition, under the revised Family and Medical Leave Act. "This is wonderful news. It ends what had been a nightmare for our families for generations," said Stratton Pollitzer, the deputy director of Equality Florida, an LGBT rights organization. "It's so important to take time off from work to care for your ailing husband or wife." In earlier decades, gay workers couldn't even be open with their employers," Pollitzer said. "You wouldn't tell them you had a partner because you were afraid you would be...

Related "Laws and Legislation" Articles

Florida workers who are gay and married in the state can now apply to their employers for leave to care for their spouses with a health condition, under the revised Family and Medical Leave Act.
"This is wonderful news. It ends what had been a...

TALLAHASSEE – Dog track veterinarians and greyhound owners would be required to tell the state within seven days whenever racing dogs are injured, under a bill unanimously passed by the Florida Senate Tuesday.
Florida and Alabama are the only two...

While Rhonda Swan has a right to her opinion, I certainly wish the one printed today was based on more factual input.
Swan stated that Florida lawmakers have passed a series of gun laws in the last 10 years that have made the NRA happy but residents less...

The Florida House wants to tackle the state's myriad gambling issues in one fell swoop.A wide-ranging bill filed Monday would:•Allow two destination casino resorts to open in South Florida, offering craps, roulettes and baccarat;•Allow greyhound track...

Florida lawmakers appear to be listening to the statewide uproar over high-stakes testing, proposing limits on the never-ending stream of exams that students must take.
Hopefully they'll listen just as hard to the calls for reforming the laws that govern...

Members of the Palm Beach County NCJW POAST Coalition (Partner Organizations Against Sex Trafficking) are spearheading efforts to get HB 369 and its Senate companion bill SB 534 heard in their respective houses and passed in this legislative session....

Uber is in the taxi business. Let's just admit that.
Unfortunately, Uber does not play nice with local governments. They don't follow local taxi laws. And South Florida counties and cities have been bullied as they try to reign in Uber.
Now Sen. Jeff...

Cable and cellphone bills could be trimmed, the cost of textbooks cut, and testing in public schools reduced. Water and land policy may be overhauled, medical marijuana legalized, and beer and liquor laws loosened.
As state lawmakers gather Tuesday to...

Five years ago, President Barack Obama signed a law that will be a significant part of his presidential legacy: the Affordable Care Act.
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday on a case that will largely determine if that law is...

A federal lawsuit challenging the city's ban on the commercial sale of puppies and kittens will head to court in July. So Tuesday, Sunrise city commissioners agreed to postpone the ban until July 31 to allow time for the court to issue a ruling. The delay...

Legislation that would end permanent alimony in Florida also would let people reduce their payments after retiring.
House and Senate versions of the bill were filed late Tuesday to overhaul Florida's alimony system and, for the first time, impose a...

Science, math and English are important, but students in Florida also need to learn how to manage money before they graduate from high school.
So say advocates of a bill before the Legislature that would mandate a stand-alone, financial-literacy course...

French President Francois Hollande said during a visit Tuesday to a vandalized Jewish cemetery in eastern France that the growing number of acts against Jews and Muslims threatens the country's very foundations.
Hollande spoke in the small Alsatian...

For decades, Florida lawmakers have talked about changing the public records law to hide the names of people who apply to run our state universities. This year, they may well do it.
Their argument is simple. They say no good candidates will apply to be...

Doctors should be the only ones who decide how medical marijuana should be ingested.
But Florida lawmakers are considering banning smokable pot in exchange for making it legal for very sick people.
Rep. Greg Steube proposes making medical marijuana...

Attorneys would not be able to collect fees if they sued insurance companies on behalf of a repair contractor or other third party to an insurance contract, if a proposed state law filed this week is enacted.
State Rep. John Tobia, R-Melbourne Beach,...

What woman hasn't sneaked into a men's bathroom to avoid a long line?
Men do it, too.
Florida wants to make people like you bathroom outlaws.
A proposed bill would make it illegal to switch genders when going pee or potty in a public restroom. The...

Especially if you're a woman, you know the scenario. You're at a gas station, restaurant or stadium and have to use the bathroom, badly. But when you reach the restroom, there's a line. A really long line.
You look at the men's room and see no line....

High school transfer rules are again under review as the state's House Education Committee on Wednesday will revisit details of a policy passed into law in 2012.
This will be the third time in three years the Florida High School Athletic Association...

A medical marijuana bill that addresses the concerns of law enforcement was filed Tuesday in the state House.
Unlike a Senate bill on the subject, the House measure would limit marijuana treatment to HIV/AIDS, cancer, epilepsy, ALS, Parkinson's...